The number of sex offenders registered in Sussex is on the rise, but police say the streets are safer.

Forty-five more offenders brought the total in Sussex to 553 in the 12 months to March this year, according to an annual report released yesterday.

Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley, who heads the monitoring of offenders for Sussex Police, said the total was bound to be higher because new names were constantly being added following fresh convictions.

The fact these people were now on the Sex Offenders Register and were being monitored increased public security, he said.

Fourteen offenders broke the register's rules or reoffended during the year and were either cautioned or convicted.

One was John Anslow, 42, from Selsey, who raped a teenage girl at knifepoint five months after he was released from prison for an identical attack. He was jailed for life.

Mr Ladley said the attacks by registered offenders were usually spontaneous and difficult to anticipate.

But the fact offenders were being monitored meant they were invariably caught early after reoffending and prevented from committing more crimes.

He said: "I realise this is no consolation to the victims of those who did reoffend but I am convinced the system stopped more attacks."

Nick Smart, assistant chief officer of the Sussex Probation Area, said: "There is no system that is 100 per cent risk-free but the register manages the risks much better.

"We are quicker at noticing risky behaviour and recalling offenders to prison if necessary."

The report told how the authorities acted swiftly when a sports instructor, convicted of indecent assault, advertised classes for children at leisure centres.

The authorities decided to tell the centres of his background and by doing so, the report said, had lowered the risk of an offence being committed.

However, the parents of Sarah Payne, murdered by sex offender Roy Whiting near Littlehampton in 2000, do not believe the rules governing sex offenders are strong enough and want the public to be allowed to view the register.

The Government has so far rejected their calls.